March 12, 2004, Hour One: Smallpox Vaccine / Robot Race / Hubble Ultra Deep Field

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > March > March 12, 2004:
Hour One: Smallpox Vaccine / Robot Race / Hubble Ultra Deep Field

This week researchers announced that a new form of vaccine against the dreaded smallpox virus works on a related monkey disease, and may be safer than the existing vaccine. In this hour, Ira and guests talk about the experimental vaccine, MVA, and how it stacks up against the existing 'Dryvax' vaccine.

We'll also check in on preparations for a robotic race across the desert. The race, slated to start Saturday, will pit 15 self-controlled robotic vehicles against the clock as they travel from near Los Angeles to near Las Vegas in hopes of winning a million dollar prize. note: all competing teams were disquallified from the race within the first eight miles of the final 142-mile course.

Plus, this week astronomers with the Hubble Space Telescope project released images looking back closer to the dawn of the universe than ever before. We'll talk about what might be learned from the Ultra Deep Field pictures.

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

Guests:
Anthony Fauci
Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland
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Colonel Jose Negron
DARPA Grand Challenge Program Manager
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Arlington, VA
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Michael Shara
Curator, Department of Astrophysics
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York

This segment produced by Charles Bergquist

Archived Audio:
smallpox
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robots
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space
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